The Black Dog was held in Victoria Park, Huish Drive.
By Matthew Pearce
More than 600 people wore their best clothes on Saturday October 9th to raise awareness about mental health at the Black Dog Ball.
Named the premier event in Central Queensland by organizers, the ball aims to remove the stigma surrounding depression and mental health issues in the Queensland area.
Vicki Standen, who is part of the Black Dog Ball Committee along with Tracey Watt and Natasha Price, said the annual event was started in 2013 by a group of friends who had all been touched by the “Black Dog”.
“We have all had our own experiences with mental health, be it a family member or a friend, and we understand how serious it is,” she said.
“Since then it has just evolved and grown and we have such an incredible fan base and great sponsors who make everything possible.”
About 620 people attended this year’s event at Victoria Park on Huish Drive, which Vicki said she was “a really great number for us”.
“The response to the event has been overwhelming, it’s always a sell-out, and we’re just overwhelmed by the effort people put into attending,” she said.
“It’s unbelievable that everyone is dressed so beautifully.”
Since 2013, over $ 260,000 has been raised for mental health initiatives in the Central Queensland area, with previous beneficiaries such as Access Recreation, Carinity, Headspace, Anglicare, Mates in Construction and Carers Australia Qld.
This year’s beneficiaries are CQ Healthy Families and Project Booyah.
“CQ Healthy Families provides much-needed psychological support to victims of domestic and family violence while Project Booyah works with vulnerable youth in our community,” said Vicki.
“We have supported Project Booyah in the past and we had some of their success stories over the night, it was amazing.
“CQ Healthy Families has projects that they will run with the proceeds of the ball. You don’t appreciate the mental agony that the people go through, they help. “
One of the Black Dog Ball’s top fundraising drives for 2021 is an online raffle. Tickets are $ 25 for the chance to win a $ 5,000 vacation voucher.
The raffle will be drawn on Monday, October 18, and the winner will be notified on that day. You can still take part in the raffle by visiting the Black Dog Ball Facebook page.
This year’s Black Dog Ball Gold Sponsor is Smyth Financial. Silver sponsors are FM Studios and Highpoint Access as well as Highpoint Access and Rescue.
If you need help, send a message to CQ Healthy Families on their Facebook page.
For more information on Project Booyah or recommendations, please visit https://projectbooyah.com.au